Today, Dr. Collins announced ^[1] the Trans-NIH Substance Use, Abuse, and Addiction Functional Integration that will enhance the NIH Institute and Center (IC) collaborations around this important scientific and public health topic.

 The Functional Integration ^[2]is a collaborative framework that will draw on the past two years of collaboration among the NIH ICs on substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research. Already, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have made significant progress at integrating their intramural research programs in substance use, abuse, and addiction, including the appointment of a single Clinical Director for NIAAA and NIDA and the establishment of a joint genetics Intramural Research Program and a common Optogenetics lab. Additionally, they have initiated joint NIAAA and NIDA Council meetings.  By pooling resources and expertise, the Functional Integration will identify cross-cutting areas of research and confront challenges faced by multiple Institutes and Centers.

Over the past two years, we have also engaged in a serious effort to identify new opportunities in substance use, abuse, and addiction research and public health needs that are not currently being pursued across NIH.  We received exceptional feedback from stakeholders through our Scientific Strategic Plan Request for Information ^[3], public web meeting, and additional stakeholder meetings. The resulting draft plan ^[4]will be a starting point for the Functional Integration leadership.

The NIAAA and NIDA Councils and the NCAB will meet on December 13 to discuss the Functional Integration. This is an open meeting and we will post the details within the next few days.